MENA

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has upheld a ban on Iraqi teams at the 2008 Olympic Games after the government missed the deadline to address accusations of political interference.

Sports information provider, STATS LLC has agreed a joint venture with Mumbai-based interactive media and digital sports content provider, Sportz Interactive, to form STATS Middle East.

MP & Silva (MPS) was appointed as the exclusive Media Advisor of the domestic market, and the exclusive international rights holder for the UAE Football League (UFL), the United Arab Emirate’s (UAE) newly created top-tier professional football league.

The IAAF agreed a deal through its Marketing Partner Dentsu that gives Al Jazeera Sport the broadcast rights in the Middle East for the package of IAAF World Athletic Series events for the period 2010 to 2013.

Real estate developer, Hydra Properties, will sponsor the United Arab Emirates National Olympic Committee (NOC) participation in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, has become the first Founding Partner of Generations for Peace, a global initiative which runs peace programmes using sport to bring together young people from communities divided by conflict.

Qatar is set to announce its candidature for 2018 World Cup according to UK media reports, following its controversial failure to proceed to candidate city status for the 2016 Olympic Games.

Iraq will appeal its suspension by the International Olympic Committee and will send a high-level delegation to present its case.

The International Olympic Committee selected Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo as candidate cities for the 2016 Olympic Games. Doha missed out on selection, while Madrid and Tokyo appear the cities to beat in the early running.

Jordan’s Peace Through Sport initiative has been re-named Generations For Peace in a move which clearly distinguishes it from similarly titled projects and underscores a fresh global focus.

His Royal Highness, Prince Feisal Al Hussein of Jordan, the founder and chairman of the global initiative ‘Peace Through Sport’, has changed the name of his flagship project to ‘Generations For Peace'.

The United Arab Emirates will host Fifa’s World Club Cup in 2009 and 2010, after beating rival bids to host the tournament from Japan, Australia and Portugal.

The ‘Earth’ golf course in Dubai, designed by Greg Norman, is to host the world’s richest golf tournament, the Dubai World Championship, which has a prize fund of $10 million.

Indian telecoms company, Reliance Communications, and the International Cricket Council have extended their eight year partnership for one year until 2015.

South Africa’s Haroon Lorgat has emerged as the favourite to succeed current International Cricket Council chief executive, Malcolm Speed.

Powerboat P1 has confirmed Bahrain as the venue for the first ever Powerboat P1 Grand Prix to be staged in the Middle East.